The Day Hell Froze Over
by StarChibi
Summary: KAI/OC (^_^;) Chaptered this time. Anyway... three years after the end of the series Kai bumps into a girl. At the end of the street, he realises he's missing 10000 yen...A/N- apparently this is good.
1. Redhead and a Leather Jacket

_THE AUTHOR SENDS HER DEEPEST APOLOGIES FOR THE COMPLETE LACK OF ORIGINALITY_

_The Infamous Random Babblings © of Chibi-chan:_

Oookay, people, I don't know how old the guys are but I'm making it Kai was fifteen when it started and Tyson and the other two are twelve, because I refuse to believe any guy under fifteen, especially from Japan, can have a body like that guy did. It's just not going to happen. Nor am I going to insult fifteen-year-olds by insinuating that that immature twit Tyson is a teenager yet. Was. Whatever...

Three years onwards...Kai is about twenty, the brats are seventeen, and Rei in Japan, but I can never remember the Japanese names and I've only ever seen the dub so they've go their dub names. K? Get used to it. 

This isn't the best, I was pretty lazy when I wrote it, and as a matter of fact I think it sucks, but there you go…__

PG for language and what the cinemas call 'adult themes' which the little kiddies no doubt pay even more close attention too. I don't know where they get the idea that kids find duets with bluebirds more interesting.

Shrek? Now _that_ was a good movie. Loved the bluebird. That was a duet with _style_, and the only one I have ever seen little kiddies interested in.

Does this tell you something, Nelvana?! ARGH! Die you editing crews! (sorry. I have a grudge the size of Ayres Rock against the people who think kids can't know about foreign countries and death and saying bad people go to hell is not _done_….

Aaaanyway…(sweatdrop) 

FINAL WARNING: if you object to Hell being used in common language then I suggest you don't read this. The title should be enough warning. 

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Beyblade. If I did I would be able to afford to buy that new computer I want. Anika & family & story is mine though. Don't steal. I bite. You wanna put it on a site, that's okay but please tell me first ^_^

**The Day Hell Froze Over**

**Chapter One**

_Redhead and a Leather Jacket_

**_This is Tyson. This is the day when Hell froze over. Not really, and as a matter of fact it happened over a few months, but I always thought that the day Kai got a crush or worse, a girlfriend who actually liked the guy, or he fell in…yeah, you know the l-word. Anyway, I always thought that when Max even suggested Kai would ever get a girlfriend he was a basket, three chairs, a blanket, ten sandwiches, a thermos of coffee and an entire colony of ants short of a picnic. I said yeah, it could happen…when Hell froze over._**

**_Guess what?_**

**_The Devil must be wishing they sold snow boots down there right about now…._**

****

**_* * * * * * *_**

Tokyo was an impressive city, she had to admit. The buildings made her feel even more dwarfed than usual, though the short people were a comfort. Back home she was short; here she was normal height. She was nearly bent backwards gazing up at the tallest skyscraper in the city. It was after hours: she couldn't go up to the top and look out over the city, now. But she didn't feel like going back to her hotel, either. Four train rides and a ten-minute walk, and she'd probably get lost...

Ugh. Maybe she'd just wander around, fall asleep in a corner of a train station and go back in the morning. 

Yeah, right, but she _would_ stay out for a bit longer. The girl stuck her hands in the pockets of her worn leather jacket and pulled her floppy-brimmed hat down further over her eyes, turning her back on the building and beginning to walk back down the way she had come. The lights of the city were just beginning to turn on- up ahead, she could see a big red sign that glowed brightly against the sky. It was on the side of some kind of energy drink company- they had hundreds of the things up here. The sign was of a big bird of some kind, and the girl stared at the sign in confusion for a long moment. For some reason it struck her as familiar.

Oh yeah. That guy on the Blade Breakers. What was his name again...she shrugged, not being bothered to remember. Her thoughts went from the phoenix to Beyblading. International phenomenon, when the Breakers had first made their appearance. Now the excitement had died down, but the enthusiasm was still there. It seemed like it was one of the fads that stays around. 

That was good. There was nothing more annoying than overly persistent marketing. Except possibly her siblings, who really took the cake. Literally, and more than three times, if she recalled correctly. 

She kicked a rare little pebble in front of her, absently avoiding the people she was passing. She stopped in front of a department store and looked at her watch. Seven o'clock. Plenty of time for wandering around, in this city. 

Not that she liked shopping. Her hotel just wasn't exactly the nicest place to hang around in if you weren't asleep. Nothing to do, nothing to look at, certainly not with the view she had outside of her window.

Grey concrete- now _that_ was exciting....

Automatically she headed upstairs to the toy section. Her brother would kill her if she didn't bring him back something. 

Lost in her thoughts about what to get her youngest sibling, she didn't hear the shop lady call out about the wet steps too late. Her boot slipped out from under her.

_Hm. Interesting view._

She didn't even feel or put any thought into the hand that reached towards the floor to protect her head and push gently off the step, too fast for the horrified audience to see, and simple instinct guided her legs to put a little more momentum into their movement over her head.

She kicked and pushed off, and landed in a semi-crouch on the ground, one hand steadying herself on the floor.

'Whew...' she breathed. 'That was real close...'

'I'm so sorry, miss, I didn't warm you in time!' the shop assistant said, hurrying up and bowing low. 'I'll have the signs put up right away. I'm glad you weren't injured, miss.'

She felt her mouth quirk. The people here were so polite. At home she'd probably have been checked over by a nurse and then screamed at by a security guard. 

'No, it's all right, really.' She shook her head in answer to another flurry of worried questions. 'No, really, I'm fine.'

'Are you some kind of acrobat?' a kid asked, his eyes wide. His mother blushed and covered his mouth quickly.

'Not that I'm aware of, kid. Can someone point me in the direction of the elevators? I'm not that good at reading your language, and I think I'll give the stairs a miss.' She gave the stairs a sour look, earning a laugh from her small audience. She felt embarrassed as the shock wore off, and a need to get away and spend a few quiet minutes sorting through Beyblades. 

She followed the shop assistant's instructions, and soon found herself in the area she was looking for, walking past a café to get there. Someone bumped into her- some guy, to be exact. 

''Cuse me.' 

'No worries.' She shrugged, and absently rubbed her arm. He had had an arm like a brick wall. Not overly muscled, just solid. She then blinked, and looked down.

Geez. She pulled the 10 000 yen note loose. He must have been putting it into his pocket- what kind of person wanders around stick that kind of money casually into their pocket?!

She spun around. He'd already disappeared.

'Shit.' She muttered, breaking into a run. She didn't even know what he'd looked like. Something about silver hair-? Black jacket. That was about as far as she could get. 

_I think my arm is going to have a bruise on it._

Kai put his hand to his pocket and absently pulled out the notes he carried there. He blinked, and counted them again. He stared at them and then spun as he shoved the remainder back into his pocket.

'Oh shit-' he growled. 'I must've dropped it when I bumped into that girl-' what had she looked like? Black jacket and- a hat. Red hair, too. Maybe. 

How was he supposed to find her among this many people?!

How the hell can I find him among this many people?! This is insane! She looked left and right, and skidded to a halt to hurriedly ask a startled shop assistant, who giggled and pointed. For some reason, the girl felt inclined to give her one of her Looks. This one said, "Why are you giggling?"

'That was Kai, miss.' The girl said, and sighed when the foreigner blinked in incomprehension. 'He's one of the Blade Breakers...?'

A red phoenix flashed through her mind.

'...oh.' Well, that wasn't reassuring. He'd probably bite her head off. Still, if he was famous, perhaps some more people than she'd thought would know where he had gone.

Kai just hoped that that girl was looking for him as well, and had enough sense to ask someone if they'd seen him go past. He wasn't incredibly vain about his fame, but he _was_ a realist. He knew most people took note of a famous Beyblader, even if they didn't show it- which was rare. Dammit- the one time he had to go out and do something-

His grandfather would kill him if he found out he'd lost 10 000 yen-

He bumped into someone again.

'Sorry.' He called, preoccupied. 

'That's okay-' a female voice shouted. She had pretty good heari-

Kai screeched to a halt and spun on his heel so fast he was amazed he didn't burn the rubber on the pavement. 

She skidded to a halt on the pavement and spun around so fast she was amazed she didn't take off the soles of her Docs. Good thing too. They had cost a bundle.  A few people passed in front of their locked gazes.


	2. Meeting the Rest

**Chapter Two:**

_Meeting the Rest _

It really was Kai. From what she could remember, but he looked older. Which was to be expected, of course. He looked much sexier in person. 

_Eep! Okay, bad thoughts, bad thoughts, think soap! No, on second thought, _**don't**_. Baaad connotations._

For a moment Kai thought she was going to be another one of those raving fangirls, but then he realised that was the girl behind her. The girl he was looking at had no expression on her face; whatever thoughts were flying underneath it remained a secret. He had to admire that. 

'I've been looking for you.' She shrugged, and reached into her pocket, pulling out his note. 'This is yours, isn't it?'

Kai nodded, stepping forward and taking it briskly.

'Thankyou.'

'No worries, mate.' She said, touching the brim of her cap, Kai paused- he wasn't sure why. Pausing wasn't really something he did at all often. Like never. 

'Where're you from?'

'Australia. Why?'

Her eyes were laughing at him, he thought suspiciously. Her face was blank, much like his, most of the time, but her eyes seemed to be snickering. 

'Just wondering.' He shrugged. She sighed. 'What?'

'You're going to hate me for asking you this-' she began, and looked up at the sky. Kai groaned inside. Oh, yay.

'Do you have a pen, then?' he muttered, holding out his hand.

'Sorry. It's for my little brother.' She muttered, clearly humiliated. Well, that was okay. Kai found letting people humiliate themselves was sometimes more effective than him doing it. For some reason he found himself saying,

'I don't have any siblings.'

'Lucky you.' She said miserably. 'Wanna trade?'

'No, not really. Here.' He handed her back the beyblading flyer she'd pulled out of her pocket.  

'Thanks.'

Kai shrugged, and they turned their backs on each other to go.

'YO! KAAAAI!'

'Oh God.' Kai groaned, slapping his forehead. 'Not him. I can't take this.'

For some reason, she turned around again as some hyperactive guy her age barrelled through the crowd, two other guys his age behind him, embarrassed and making excuses for their friend's unruly behaviour. Normally she didn't stick around for this kind of thing, but she had a feeling seeing Kai getting- well, _glomped_ by the late-teenager version of Tyson struck her as an once-in-a-lifetime event.

'You're back, buddy! Long time no see!'

'Tyson, we live in the same city.'

'Yeh, well, you know how it is.' Tyson said, flapping his hand in a bored fashion. 'So how's college, man?'

'I don't recall having to tell you anything.' Kai said coldly, and then blinked as Max and Kenny finally reached them. 

'Kai! We haven't seen you in ages! Let's go catch up over dinner, okay? Hey, who's the babe?' Max asked, before he blushed furiously as Kenny clapped a hand over his mouth, embarrassed once more.

She looked over her shoulder.

'Who?' she asked, genuinely confused before she realised they were all looking at her. '...oh. Uh-'

'I don't know.' Kai shrugged. 'I just bumped into her.'

'Su-ure.' Tyson said, narrowing his eyes conspiratorially. Kai noticed with great and rapidly rising irritation that the guy had not grown up at all much in maturity, but in terms of physical height he was as tall as he was. Possibly taller.

How humiliating. 

Tyson did, fortunately, seem to sense he was skating on thin ice so thin it was see though, and stopping playfully nudging the older boy in the ribs with his elbow. He grinned at the girl, holding out his hand.

'Well, I saw you get more than two words out of Kai, and that's good enough for me! You're pretty cute, you wanna join us for dinner?'

She opened her mouth to refuse, but stopped suddenly, for some reason catching Kai's gaze. And then found the black-haired boy behind her, pinning her arms behind her back. 

'Hey-' she began.

'We won't take no for an answer!' Kenny sang, as he and Max frog-marched Kai forward. The older boy seemed to be resigned to his fate.

'You put up with this all the time?'

'Not anymore. But the college won't let me hang around all summer because they're rebuilding.'

'Bummer.'

'My thoughts exactly.' Kai growled.

She had to stop a smile. But no one noticed. 

'Hey, you're pretty good at Japanese- have you been here before?' Tyson asked, watching their new female friend eat for a moment. She was certainly more refined in her manner than he was. 

But then again, as Kai nastily remarked when he had mentioned it earlier, a lot of people were. Most, in fact. 

'No, but my grandfather is Japanese and he lives with us a lot. My dad is away a lot, too, so I talk to Grandpa a lot. Everyone in my family is pretty good at the language, even my mother, despite the fact she claims she'd horrible.' She rolled her eyes a little and laughed. 

'Wow, that's the most you've said all night.' Max blinked. 'You related to Kai?'

'I don't think so. I suppose my grandmother could have had an affair or something, but I doubt it.'

The three boys her age laughed, and Kai had to suppress another sigh. In reality though, he wasn't paying that much attention. His thoughts were centred on the redhead sitting next to him. She didn't say much, but when she did her tone was dark and almost sultry, laced with whatever emotion, he suspected, she felt like showing. He was trying to figure her out, but was discovering it was harder than he had originally thought; much, much harder than anyone else he knew. He was also fairly sure than she knew what he was trying to do, and was deliberately letting him know what she said wasn't necessarily what she meant.

She was teasing him, in a sadistic kind of way, and he didn't like it.

What was disturbing about this situation was that he was getting increasingly curious instead of angry, though he was that too. He wondered suspiciously if she knew exactly what was going on inside his head right now. Then he put down his chopsticks.

'What's your name?' he asked. The argument between Max and Tyson over the last sushi stopped abruptly, and they all looked at him. Last to do that was the girl, he noticed. 

'What?' Tyson gaped, letting go of Max's collar. 

'You heard me. She'd been with us for two hours but she's gotten away without mentioning her name. What is it?'

Oh, bugger. Still he'd have probably asked that anyway. He really was good. She wondered briefly if he thought that she was teasing him all this time, and decided he did, meeting that fierce mahogany gaze of his. 

I wonder how I give people that impression...

'Sorry,' she grinned. 'My name's Anika Takasuki.'

'That's pretty.' Kenny said, poking his index fingers together. Anika ignored his obvious embarrassment at complimenting her, groaning inwardly. Kai rolled his eyes and pulled his wallet out.

'If Tyson's finished stuffing his face, I'll pay the bill so we can get out of here, all right?'

'Huh?'

'What?'

'Are you serious, Kai?' 

Anika said nothing and showed nothing, instead inclined her head to the side slightly and letting a small smile flicker across his lips, causing Kai to twinge inside with discomfort. Shit.

'Look I just want to go home.' He said wearily, standing up. 'And the sooner we can get out of here, there better, and the quick way does not involve fighting over who the change belongs to. Anika, get them outside, please.'

'Yessir.' Anika agreed, nodding, and smiled dazzlingly at them. She hated doing this, she thought, as the stunned boys went to put their shoes on. At least no one could tell just how easily she was embarrassed.

Except possibly Kai. Something about that scared her, and now she really did want to go back. 

'Anika, Kai? You're awfully quiet back there.' Tyson grinned, stopping and turning around to grin at them. 'You haven't been making out behind our backs, have you?'

Kai slammed a fist down on Tyson's head as he walked past.

'No.' Anika said icily, unceremoniously stepping on the boy as she followed Kai. Kai suppressed a smirk. 'For your information, I've never been kissed.'

'Huh?'

'You're kidding!'

'No way! Why not?' Max gaped, looking honestly shocked. Kai was a little surprised himself, even if he didn't show it. Anika Takasuki was...well...beautiful. He took a deep breath and let it out, hoping it expelled that thought as a part of him squirmed with uncomfortableness and another part rolled about on the floor, laughing hysterically. 

But the fact remained, as Tyson screamed out aloud to the whole street, Anika was very kissable and how old was she?!

'Seventeen.' Anika growled. 'Tyson, shut your mouth, I think all of Tokyo heard you!' 

Seventeen? So she was as old as Tyson. That made her three years younger than he was. 

'No, I'm in the year below you.' Anika said, grinning. 'If I went to a Japanese school, anyway.' 

'What year are you in Australia, then?'

'I finished school at the end of last year. Start of November, I think.' Anika said calmly. They stared at her. Kai nodded.

'You're from Western Australia, then. The education system there is weird.'

'You said it, but it gets me out of school a year early, why should I care?' Anika laughed, winking at him. 

She really was laughing...maybe he had been being paranoid before. Damn, how come he couldn't make up his mind?!

'Let's go. The train station is this way.' He muttered, turning on his heel abruptly. Anika shrugged and followed.

'Come on, guys.' She said over her shoulder. 'I'm tired.'

'What just made Kai flip out like that? He was back to being Major Ass in a second.' Tyson demanded.

'What, you're asking us to figure out Kai?' Max gaped. Tyson thought about this for a second.

'Good point...'

'Tyson!' snapped Anika. 

'Coming! Geez, you're just like Kai, Anika-'

'Thankyou.'

'Hey, Anika, you wanna hang out with us some?' Tyson asked. Anika froze at the doorway and turned around, looking surprised. Kai made a mental note. 

'What?'

'I said, you wanna hang out with us some more? I mean, you're like a female, more friendly version of Kai, so you're pretty cool. We can show you around some… you're here all summer break, right?' 

'Y-Yeah...'

'Great! Max lives just around the corner from here at the hobby shop, if you meet him there tomorrow and eleven we'll show you around, okay? What's your room number, in case we need to call?'

Caught up in the flurry of motion and energy that was Tyson, Anika found herself handing over her room number and taking the instructions to Max's place, and Tyson's, and Kenny's....Tyson paused.

'Hey Kai, what's your address? Kai?'

'He left ten minutes ago.' Anika said, and was amazed at how much effort it had taken her to keep from sounding a little disappointed. That guy seemed to be the only sane one...not that these guys weren't likeable, it was just that they seemed so much like...like...Anika, for the first time, found herself lost for words to describe the three boys racking their memories for their leader's address, or at least his phone number. Eventually she had to settle lamely, and rather humiliatingly, for, "not Kai". 

She would wonder about that later. When she actually wanted to think about something like that. But right now it was way too late -or early, it was once in the morning- to think about the implications that might have. 

Dammit, she did not want to get a crush on someone!

'Hey Anika, something wrong? You look tired all of a sudden.'

'Oh, I just had a long day, that's all.' Anika shrugged, smiling, then realised what it was. Tyson, Max and Kenny were practically Japanese versions of her brothers, ignoring the fact they were all the same age.

Now that, she decided, was very scary. All of a sudden she felt great pity for the people of Tokyo.

'I can't believe Kai just walked off like that without saying anything!' Tyson steamed, paying for his ticket and slamming it through the admission machine, storming through the gates and waiting for his friends. 

'Actually, I'm kind of worried.' Kenny said, 'Kai bought dinner for us and let himself be dragged off- that's not like him. Do you think something's wrong? Maybe he's sick.'

Tyson groaned.

'No such luck, I don't think that guy's even had a sniffle his whole life. But I don't get it, Anika's like the only person I've ever seen him treat as if he doesn't completely hate her. Especially the first time they've met.'

 'You do have a point. Maybe you should ask him.' Kenny said, and pointed. 'Don't forget, Tyson, Kai lives in the same direction as we do. We have to spend twenty minutes going the same way.' 

Tyson turned around and glared at the young man leaning against a wall, his eyes shut, his arms folded, as always.

'He hasn't changed much at all...' he muttered, and stormed over. 'Yo, Kai, what's the big idea, storming off like that?!'

He tugged at Kai's leather jacket until the boy opened his eyes.

'I didn't storm off anywhere. I got fed up with waiting.'

'You didn't even say goodbye to Anika! By the way, we were thinking about taking her around to the park and that tomorrow, do you want to come?'

'I'll think about it.' Kai said, surprising himself. Normally he would run away from a chance to spend the whole damn day with Tyson like wild bulls were after him, but for some reason...he had to admit it, Anika had his curiosity aroused, and it was going to keep on nagging at him until he figured that girl out.

'Y-You serious?' Tyson gaped. 'Wow.'

'It's not like I have anything to do, Tyson.' Kai said, rolling his eyes and looking around down the tunnel. 'The train's coming.'

'How can you-' Tyson blinked, as a slow rumble reached his ears. A few seconds later, the train's doors slid open. Tyson's eyes narrowed at Kai, who calmly stepped into the doors and sat down. 

'Show off.'


	3. Compulsory Shower WalkIn

Just a cultural note here. The boys are a bit surprised because Anika wears the least clothing at the top of her body, right? Like boob-tubes and stuff. To Western cultures this isn't that surprising, but when I was in Japan this teacher that showed us around asked us not to walk around without sleeves on or undoing the top couple of buttons on our shirts –like we would, it was too damn cold- because some of the boys would find in a turn-on. And after looking at other anime and stuff I guessed having a short skirt is more acceptable in Japan than it is here, so it's like… the other way around. I mean, I could be wrong about this, but that was the impression I got.

**Chapter Three**

_Compulsory Shower Walk-In_

'Why's Anika?' Tyson asked, looking around Max's room. 'She's not here.'

'No, Tyson, I'm sure Max is hiding her under the bed.' Kai said sarcastically as he appeared in the doorway. 

'Kai! You came?'

'Like I said, I don't have anything better to do, and I need to see someone in that area anyway.'

'See someone-?' Tyson asked, and then groaned and rubbed his forehead. 'Forget it, never mind. Kai, you go see where Anika is. Maybe she got lost- Max needs to finish the repairs to that Beyblade and I'll wait for Kenny.'

Kai looked suspicious for a moment, but then shrugged.

Why am I doing this? He asked himself silently, looking at the doors he passed, watching the numbers. And that lady at the counter...

'Oh, I'm sorry, sir,' she had giggled, 'we can't call her room, she specifically said that anyone who called her would-' she frowned, and said something in English. Kai's lips moved, and he grinned. It reminded the woman of the one that had orange and black stripes and lived in the jungle. 

'I see. I'll have to go up to her room, then. What's the number?'

'Oh, sir-' she began to protest. Kai fixed her with a smile. He hated himself for doing it, but it certainly got results. Oh, if only Tyson could have seen him act like that...hell, if _anyone_ had seen him act like that, Kai would have gladly shot himself. He leaned his chin on his hand, resting his elbow on the counter.

'Hm?'

She blushed furiously. At that time, Kai would have gladly drunk arsenic. He felt like a traitor to himself. 

'Er- room- room 24e, sir...'

'Thankyou.' Kai said in what he hoped was a sincere tone, flashed her another smile, and then walked into the elevator. Once there, he punched himself across the face.

'God, how humiliating.' He muttered. 'I hope I _never_ have to do that again.' 

Kai still felt like looking around for a handy loaded gun as he stopped at the right door, and knocked on the door.

'Anika? Hey, Anika, are you awake yet?'

He waited for the footsteps, and heard none. He was about to try the doorhandle when the door opened. Anika stared at him.

'Hey, it's you.' She managed, after they had stared at each other in horror for a minute. 

How had she come up to the door without making any sound?

She'd thought she was hallucinating when Kai's voice had called. What the hell was he doing here?

Kai pulled himself together first, still a little unnerved.

'Tyson says you were supposed to be at Max's place fifteen minutes ago.'

Anika laughed nervously. Kai was trying not to notice the fact she was wearing only a short bathrobe and not much else, if he was any judge.

_Whoa. Don't go there. Do. Not. Go. There. Kai. HELLO?!_ His inner voice screamed. _Are you LISTENING?! No? Fine, but when she catches you staring at her butt like then there is going to be hell to pay- good lad._

Kai snapped himself out of his trance and shook his head violently, unused to being this out of control. Anika stepped aside, indicating he should come in.

'Yeah. I kind of woke up at eleven and had to have a shower- lucky you came, actually, I spend ages in there. What are you doing here?'

'Tyson seemed to think it was a good idea, and if I refused to come then you would have had him barging in- and if you're anything like me, well-'

'Mercy from you? I'm touched.' Anika said from the bathroom. 'There's a kettle on the counter, I'll be another couple of minutes.'

Kai nodded, and set himself about making a cup of coffee. After a moment he paused, sighed, took a guess, and made two. 

He was getting really worried, and that in itself was a worry. Something about Anika was making him think about- well, stuff not involving so much as that damn bathrobe, for a start. That little incident and the thoughts that had flashed through his head when she'd opened that door, eyes puzzled, the thin silky fabric clinging to her slightly damp body-

ARGH!

He really needed to hit something. He banged his head against the table a few times, and found that it helped. After a while, though-

'What,' Anika asked, very carefully, 'are you doing that for?'

'I am wondering,' Kai said steadily, his forehead still in contact with the cheap wood, 'why the hell I let Tyson talk me into coming.'

'Because you have nothing better to do with your life.' Anika supplied helpfully, and glanced at the coffees, the question in her eyes. Kai pushed one towards her. 

'Here. White with a little sugar, right?'

She stared at him, frozen as she reached for the cup.

Okay. How had he known THAT?! He own _family_ couldn't remember that! How-why-AAAH!

The question was there, again, and Kai felt some strange compulsion to answer it once again. 

'I guessed. It just seemed to be right, that's all.'

'Uh, thanks.' Anika said. Kai regarded her steadily as she walked across the room and rummaged through a drawer, looking for something. He had to have been being paranoid last night. Bad habit of his, thinking all of the people who asked him for autographs were out to get him...feeling horrible but not wanting to know why (which is not the same as not knowing) he looked around for the flyer he had signed. He found it carefully slid between a stuffed Hello Kitty toy and a Beyblade packet. Anika did not strike him as the kind of girl who desired a stuffed Hello Kitty or a plastic Beyblade, and so he relaxed. It was going to take some getting used to, knowing a girl who apparently didn't care about who he was to the rest of the world. He was aware that was probably a fault with him, thinking a lot of people were out to get him. The problem was he was rarely wrong about people. 

He'd better start to re-assess Anika, this time less hastily and in daylight. 

'Can you see my jacket lying around?' Anika scowled, standing up. 'I can't find it anywhere.'

'What does it look like?'

'It's the one I was wearing last night-' they both looked around for it, Kai putting down his coffee and looking under the desk. He stood up and for some reason looked back at his chair. He smirked, and slid his fingers over the back of the chair, picking the leather up off the back of the chair where it had been carelessly flung the night before.

'Oh, Anika-' he said sweetly, smirking and holding it up. Anika looked, and grimaced.

'Oh, I fell like an idiot.'

Kai grinned wolfishly at her and just as she reached out to take it, the door was flung open.

'ANIKA!' Tyson yelled, and stopped. 'Oh- Kai, have you been here all this time?' he asked, his eyes glinting. Kai knew what that look meant, and he had to restrain himself from pounding the boy into a bloody pulp. 

'He has, but I wasn't ready, so he had to hang around.' Anika said quickly, before Kai could snarl out his reply. 

'Not ready? It takes you over half an hour to get dressed?!' Kenny gaped, staring at the girl's worn black pants and blood-red top, which, he couldn't help notice, had no sleeves and, come to that, ended under her arms. Encountering girls who wore the short material up the other end of their bodies was a new one. Short skirts he could handle. 

'No-o, I was in the shower.' Anika sighed, and then groaned as Tyson grinned at Kai. 

'It was nothing like that, Tyson, don't get ahead of yourself.' Kai growled- telling, his inner voice reminded him, a small lie. Kai didn't want to think about it. Tyson opened his mouth. Kai opened his eyes, and the light glinted off them in a strange way. Tyson swallowed.

'Okay, let's go, will we?' he asked, dragging Max out after him. Anika swirled what was left of he coffee around in her mug as Kai calmly finished his.

'What did you scare him like that for?'

'It's a little hobby of mine. Come on.'

**Time passes- a month, to be exact...**

Kai was rapidly getting irritated. Not with his companions- he was used to them by now. The problem was with his own confusion. Girls did not affect him like this, normally. Hell, ever. They were not, in his experience, supposed to suddenly walk into your life and stay there because one of your friends thought she was hot, and suddenly be in nearly every waking thought in your head.

Kai's problem was he had no one to ask, except...well, he knew that Anika would listen to him. Right now she was listening sympathetically to Max go on about his girlfriend over the large chocolate sundae she had bought him. 

He'd gone for about a week or so without seeing Anika, but then he'd run into Tyson again, and- well, there was Anika, teasing Kenny subtly about a girl she'd seen him avoiding looking at with a huge blush on his face. Her teasing wasn't the normal kind of, "ooh, you liiike her" teasing. It was the kind that involved dropping hints you knew something he didn't want you to know, treading the fine line between being convincing that you didn't know and screaming it in his face with silence. 

Beside him, Anika sighed as Max fell silent and shoved a huge spoon of syrup into his mouth, eyes more shiny than dry eyes allowed. Kai hadn't even been listening, and privately wondered why Max even bothered with relationships. They seemed to get in the way of everything.

Mind you, Anika was getting in the way of most of his thought processes, and he didn't even see her everyday. That had bad connotations, that did. 

Back to the original point, though, Kai was not comfortable with ever asking anyone for help. Normally because if he didn't have the answer, no one did. But Anika, as she said, had three older siblings and a younger sister who was just starting to come into a certain age area which made her as moody as hell, and a younger brother who was too cute for his own good. 

Kai vaguely heard Anika quietly tell Max something. He knew right away it wouldn't be a straight answer. She said everyone should find the answer for themselves. She would only show them the way.

And there you had it. Kai was the expert at blading. She was the expert on emotions.

Which was strange, Kai said, frowning at his ice cream, since he had never heard her speak about her own relationships...

Oh yeah. She'd never been kissed...and Kai had a feeling she thought, underneath her sympathy and knowledge, emotions were stupid. She always covered up when she was really happy, he'd noticed. 

'Anika...' he began, after Max had flung his arms around the girl and ran out. Kai noticed privately she had frozen up under the contact. That was another thing. Contact seemed to scare her. He couldn't blame her. 

She turned around on her seat, and her hand idly turned the straw around in her thickshake, looking at him questioningly. Very little was ever said between them. They found they didn't really need to. Being around someone who didn't like to talk was, for each of them, relaxing after a day with Tyson. 

Which, to Kai's utter disgust, was becoming more and more a regular occurrence. 

'-what-' he began, and stopped. Damn. Couldn't say it. He felt Anika watching him for a moment longer, and then look away. 

The lady behind the counter slid a glance at the two at her counter, quietly eating or drinking their desserts. The girl- she hadn't said much, but the blonde boy obviously valued her very much and what advice she had given. The lady herself was in middle age and was surprised to hear the words of an adult through the mouth of a child. The boy beside her- he looked a little older, perhaps, his silver and blue hair a little longer and more in control than the last time she had seen him on television. On this hot summer day, he just wore black combat pants and a blue shirt, the first few buttons undone. The lady had not missed the admiring glances he drew from the young women coming in and out of the store. 

They looked cute together, she smiled. But she also knew that, from the way these two acted, denial of emotions like that had been a habit that was going to be hard to break. 

She wondered what he had been going to ask her about. She could take a guess...

Anika wasn't sure how it had worked out, but suddenly she had spent the whole day with Kai, most of it alone with him. She had met up with Tyson and two other friends of his for lunch, before they had spotted Max just after they had finished eating, drowning his sorrows in the ice cream bar. Tyson had tactfully (for once, and after some persuasion by Kai, who had the most amazing timing) disappeared, allowing Anika to go in alone to talk to Max, with Kai coming in on unspoken agreement. Anika suspected his presence had a strangely calming effect on Max. Kai always seemed to know what to do, where to place his feet so he wouldn't have anyone knock him off. He didn't say much, but there was the certainty that if he was still there, there was a way to live through the situation. 

Anika herself was grateful for that. Tokyo was bloody HUGE. 

They hadn't said much to each other, each lost in their own thoughts. Anika liked being like this with Kai, just wandering aimlessly in silence...something was comforting about the fact she didn't have to say anything, and knew he wasn't going to say anything to her. 

It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, Kai knew. That was a rare occurrence where he was concerned, unless the people were used to him. People always seemed to think there was a fuse burning somewhere. 

'You want to go to the park?' he asked.

She nodded, a faint smile on her lips. The sun was going down over Tokyo. She wasn't complaining about spending the night with him either.

'What are they doing?' Tyson asked, trying to shove Max over so he could look through the telescope Kenny had set up on the roof of a building where he had fixed the janitor's vacuum cleaner, earning, apparently, eternal gratefulness. 

That was, Max had remarked, very sad.

'They're just- sitting there. Well, Anika's sitting, looking at the water. Kai's lying down with his hands behind his head, as usual- they're not saying anything.'

Tyson steamed, and grabbed at his hair.

'ARGH!'

'Calm down, Tyson.' Kenny said, rolling his eyes. Nope. Kai was right. Tyson did not change much at all. 'They seem to get along fine as it is. Anika's what you might say a little nicer than Kai- she listens and talks so you'll shut up more. Kai just ignores you, so it takes you longer to shut up, but the fact remains neither of them like talking much. In each other's company it must be very relaxing to know you're not expected to make conversation.' 

'...huh?' Tyson asked. Kenny sighed. 

'Never mind.' 

'Well I still say they're being difficult!'

'I say we just leave them alone, Tyson.' Max said, standing up and quickly folding up the telescope. 

'Not you too!'

'Anika just saved my life, as far as I'm concerned.' Max said firmly, causing Tyson to remind himself to make a dentist appointment. 'I don't want her angry with me, and if there is anything, I think Anika would want us to stay out of it. She tells us nearly everyday we're bumbling idiots, anyway.'

'Oh, you mean she meant that?'

'...just shut up and forget it, Tyson.'

Kenny looked back at the pair in the park, and made a grave mistake;

'Hey, I think they're talking!'

'What?! Gimme that!'

'Anika-'

'Mm?'

'Just out of curiosity, why have you never been kissed? I'm just asking.'

Anika lifted her head off her knees and looked around at Kai in surprise. Where had this come from? He was watching her with his cheek resting on one hand, having rolled onto his side in the grass.

He really was gorgeous.

ARGH! Not again! She quickly turned her head away.

'Well, for one thing- I've never had a boyfriend.'

'You must be joking.' Kai said flatly. Anika couldn't help it. Just the way he said it, in those flat, sexy, I-so-do-not-believe-you tones- it was just hilarious. 

Kai waited until she had finished laughing, trying not to smile. Hell, he was not used to this. This was totally out of character for him. 

'No, I'm not.'

'I still say you're kidding- no one's ever asked you out?' 

'Not that.' Anika said, shaking her head as he sat up, propping one knee up and tucking his other foot underneath, loosely resting his arm on his knee as he watched her. She pretended not to notice. 

'What then?'

'I just...' Anika hesitated, not really wanting to reveal one of her worst fears to someone she...well...Kai was...she didn't know. 

'You don't have to say if you don't want to.' Kai said, his voice almost gentle. Anika suddenly looked up, too quickly for him to pull his eyes away before her gaze caught his. 

She looked right through him. Kai felt like someone had just winded him with a baseball bat. 

'Don't have to, anyway.' She said, and looked away again. Kai started breathing again. God, what was that-?! What had that been? How could anyone just fix him to the spot like that?

'Why not?'

'You feel the same way I do.' She murmured. Kai stared at her, his heart racing. Shit, now her was scared. He'd never felt more exposed in his life. Beyblading with the best was nothing compared to this. 

And now she had done it. She just had to open her big mouth and let that slip, didn't she... Anika stood up, pulling her wallet out of her jacket.

'I'll go get dinner-' she muttered, hurrying off. Kai said and did nothing before she disappeared.

For the first time in his life, Kai suddenly felt sick. He was going to get angry, very angry soon if he didn't figure out a way to deal with this. 

Immediately his mind came up with a solution.

He didn't like it.

But it would, the cold, battling part of him said, lifting up the concrete slab his mind had jammed it under for the last month, it would work.

When Anika came back, he wasn't there.

She wasn't surprised.


	4. Which Hurts More?

A/N: Honestly. Some people. You'd have to wonder what the hell a really abusive, and I mean obscenities galore, review would do. Do people actually think they've achieved something by swearing their heads off because, for the love of, and I quote, "all things natural", they don't like the character? I mean, you'd think they'd just stop reading. Anyone who thinks that not liking someone, fictional or not, gives them a reason to a_bsolutely go off_ needs professional help. Seriously. And after only three pages. Really. Anyone with that much anger inside them needs therapy and not take it out on innocent ff writers who just want to let the people who like the story read it. Geez. So to the person, even though they won't read this (I need to vent somehow) who wrote me that CHARMING review with more expletives than I have ever seen outside of well, almost any five sentences I've seen in my life, I love you too. Your review was duly read, laughed at, and deleted. 

Everyone else, you're wonderful ^_^v 

**Chapter Four**

_Which Hurts More?_

Kai's grandfather paused in the doorway, and watched his grandson punch a brick wall. The sound of smashing stone had been going on for a while, and while he usually stayed out of his grandson's business, the old man couldn't help but at least ask. This was not normal behaviour. 

'Is something wrong?' he asked placidly as Kai paused, sweat tricking down his face. The brick his knuckles were resting against cracked, and in the silence Kai's grandfather listened to the small crackles, and finally the small pieces of rubble fall to the floor, a sound like raindrops against Kai's harsh breathing.

'What do you think?' Kai snarled sharply, standing up.

'I think something's bothering you and you're trying to distract yourself from it.'

Kai said nothing. 

'I'm right, then. It can't be beyblading or your studies. Which leaves one more thing I never expected from you.'

Kai had never expected it from himself either. 

'I strictly order you to continue with what you are doing then, until the memory fades from your mind.'

He bloody well intended to.

 He'd had enough. 

It stopped here, and he would go back to being _normal_. For him- he could almost hear Tyson retort. He'd probably stick his tongue out, too, and then say something about Anika being real hot, like he did everyday, as if Kai wasn't quite aware enough of that fact already- Kai growled, and threw himself back into training. 

Damn!

Anika looked up from reading her book when Max came in, Tyson following meekly behind. She assumed he had giving him A Talking To.

'Oh, hi guys.'

'Hey. Look, um- we just sort of saw Kai walk off last night-'

'I'm sure you did.' Anika said, rolling her eyes. She had shoved her anger at them down as soon as she had spotted them. Didn't they know the sun outlined them? They really were still fairly immature. She suspected Tyson was the main cause, though. 

'We were just wondering- you all right?'

'Sure, why wouldn't I be?' Anika asked. She had been asking herself why she _wasn't_ ever since she got back here. For once she'd like someone to tell her. 

Part of her knew it was because her likelihood of seeing Kai again was- oh, slim to none. 

Someone inside her wanted to scream. But she kept smiling blankly, the smiling look of stone Kai had perfected long ago, without the smile. She barely heard their not-so-subtle hints that they knew something was going on between them and would she just confess already and bawl her eyes out like a normal girl. 

It was not going to happen. She was going to have to get nasty if they kept up.

They kept up.

Anika got nasty.

They left.

Anika paced around her room, and glared at the wall, waiting for the rage to build up inside her- anger at them, and most of all anger at herself.

'Dammit!' she yelled, slamming a fist into the wall. 

There wasn't any anger toward Kai at all. She'd certainly have done the some thing in his position, and well- it had taken all she had just to go back there to a patch of grass she knew would have been empty.

Just to check.

God, NOW she was pissed even more. If that were possible...

'She's WHAT?!' Tyson, Max and Kenny screamed. The hotel clerk cowered.

'H-Her plane flew out this morning-'

'I-I-it- did?' Max stammered. 'She never said-'

'I KNEW we should never have let her hang around Kai so long!' Tyson snarled. Max glowered at him, and Tyson shut up.

Kenny slumped into a chair.

'I don't understand. Why wouldn't she tell us?' 

'Poor Kenny,' Max sighed. 'Clueless. I'll you why. One- she said once she's not good at goodbyes. Two- Anika isn't blind and knows we love having her around and won't want her to go. She's not good with emotions directed at her. And Three- we might tell Kai.'

'But we'll never see her again!' Kenny protested. 'Aren't you sad, Max?' 

'Yes.'

'Well I'm FURIOUS!' Tyson steamed. 'Ooh, when I get my hands on her-' 

'You won't.' Max mumbled to himself, looking at his feet, as if trying to memorise the carpet. He closed his eyes. 'I don't think so, anyway.'

Would you want to come back to a place that made you cringe with pain of memories? 

No. She didn't.

But it had been at the back of her mind.

'What's the matter?' her brother asked, stopping play incessantly with his beyblade toy. 'You seem a little more quiet than usual, Ani. And you haven't said anything sarcastic for three hours.' 

'He's right.' her younger sister sang sweetly. Anika twitched. 'Come on, big sister, tell us?' 

The younger girl purred, wrapping her arms around her sister's shoulders. Anika would never understand her sister's obsession with being oh-so-close sisters. She stood up abruptly.

'Get off me.' She said coldly, walking out of the room. 'Just leave me alone.'

Her sister and brother looked at each other. 

'It has to be to do with something that happened in Japan. Randy?'

The little boy frowned and stuck one thumb in his mouth, considering. Eventually he pulled off the top of his beyblade and pulled out a crumpled sheet of paper. His sister took it and quickly scanned it.

'Hm- all right, first number- some guy called Tyson.' She grinned wolfishly and picked up the cordless phone. She was going to get to the bottom of her sister's more-antisocial-behaviour-than-usual behaviour if it killed her. 

Because Anika's little sister wasn't stupid and had lived with her older sister for all her fourteen years, and knew that the one thing to get her sister like this was one thing.

Emotions she wasn't used to.

Anika's little sister had a feeling she knew what emotion it was, too.

'Little dude!' 

'What?'

'Some cool babe on the phone for ya! She says she's Anika's little sister!' Tyson's grandpa hadn't gotten halfway through his last sentence before Tyson was down the stairs snatched the phone out of his hands and shot back up the stairs. Tyson's grandfather blinked, and then grinned. 

He rubbed his goatee.

'I wonder if someone should warn Kai...nah.'

'She left?' Kai asked. Max nodded. He'd run into Kai at the video store and Max had managed to start a conversation. About the next season for bey-blading, but nevertheless a conversation. Kai nodded.

'I see.' 

Max watched Kai's face carefully, but he could see nothing. As usual. 

'So how're you and your girlfriend going?' Kai asked, stepping out into the street. 

Damn- thank God Max has enough sense to talk. Anything to distract me. Damn, damn, damn you Anika. 

'I see.' Anika's little sister said. The Japanese boy on the other end of the line sighed. 

'That's the story, and I tried not to make it sound bias.'

'You failed, but I got the gist, Tyson. I think I see the solution.'

'You do? Did I describe Kai that poorly? Nicole, nothing will change that guy's mind!' 

'He hasn't made up his mind. That's his problem.' 

'...I'm listening.' Tyson said slowly, and listened. When Nicole finished explaining, he stood up as he shouted,

'ARE YOU FLIPPING CRAZY?! ....it might just work... leave it to me!'

'Er, Tyson, not that I doubt your abilities, but please get Kenny and Max to help you.'

'You are a lot like Anika, do you know that?'

'Yes. But I'm so much more in control than she thinks she is. Prettier, too.'

'Modest as well.' Tyson muttered, sweatdropping.

Anika stared at her father and younger sister over the top of the book she was reading. They were grinning in anticipation.

'Run this by me again.' she said coolly, still not trusting them not to be up to something. The problem was the only way to find out what it was was to go, it seemed. 

'Daddy's work is holding a big function in Tokyo with some major companies, and it's regarding the future.'

Anika recalled her father mentioning this a few days before she even left for Japan, and relaxed a little.

'So they want young people there. Daddy wants you and me to go. Come on, it'll be fun! You can show me around Tokyo!'

'I dunno-' Anika muttered. 'Social functions aren't really my thing-'

'Yes, but you loved Japan, you said it yourself.' Her father grinned. 'Come on, honey.'

Anika sighed. 

Oh, bugger. Back to the best place she had ever been to and the one place in the world she dreaded to have to return to. 

The worst part was the sickening feeling of hope and dread, knotting itself together in her stomach.

'Absolutely not.' Kai growled. He still wanted to know how they had found out where he lived. 

'Oh, come on Kai, you're part of the team too! Rei's coming over too.'

'Oh, no, I'm not falling for that.' Kai said, narrowing his eyes. 'Rei's coming over with Mariah to see you guys again, not for some stupid function thing. He rang me.' 

'Well, he's coming over and coming to this while he's here!' Tyson shouted, grabbing at his hair. 'Argh! You are just so frustrating, Kai! This is a team thing! We're talking like major team sponsors and stuff here! Max's mum is coming and everything.'

'Really.' Kai said coldly. 'And I suppose you just didn't know that the Takasuki family is going to be there too?'

The three younger boys pulled in sharp breaths, and looked everywhere but those icy eyes. 

'So I was right.' Kai muttered. 

'Kai.' Kai turned around at the sound of his grandfather's voice. The three other boys swallowed and stood to attention. 'I want you to come. I was not originally convinced that it would be in your best interests to go, but I have never seen you more unfocused.'

Me either, Kai was tempted to retort, but held his tongue. 

'You're going.' His grandfather ordered. Kenny and Max automatically clapped their hands over Tyson's already opened mouth. 'You'll close things with the girl once and for all. And I expect you to apply yourself doubly.'

'Yes, grandfather.' Kai said, his look darkening. Tyson, Max and Kenny backed up a bit. Kai showed no emotions on his face, but they could practically see the red glow of rage around the boy.

'Close things? I'll bloody _close_ it all right…'

Kai knew walking off again would haunt him forever. He turned off the water and pulled the towel down from the side, quickly drying himself off. There wasn't anyway out of talking to Anika. Maybe she knew what was going on.

But Kai knew, somewhere, she was going to be just a confused as she was. 

He'd just have to see how things turned out. For once, Kai wished he believed in destiny. 


	5. Classic Set Up

**Chapter Five**

_Classic Set-Up_

'I think pink. What do you think, Anika?' Nicole burst out of the changing room. A few admiring gazes from the passer-bys boosted her confidence, and she turned to her sister.

'Anik-' she froze, and a vein in her forehead began to throb. Anika had stretched out on a flat bench with her hands behind her head.

She was _asleep_.

'ANIKA TAKASUKI!'

Damn, damn, damn, damn.

Damn!

That was all he could think as Rei jumped into the limousine, wearing black pants and a dark red shirt. The first thing Kai had thought was that it was the same colour as Anika's hair, and mentally swore at himself. Mariah followed Rei, sliding in next to him and shutting the door.

'Wow-' Tyson mumbled, staring at her. Rei reached around and twisted his ear until the boy yelled in pain.

'Hey, eyes off, Tyson, understand?'

'Yeah! Yeah! Just let me go! Ow!'

Mariah giggled and looked at Max and Kenny, apparently sensing Kai didn't feel like talking more than usual. In fact what he felt like doing was blowing up something huge. 

'So, how're you guys doing?'

'Great! What've you two been up to over in China, Mariah?' Kenny asked. 

'Well-'

'I so do not want to be here.' Anika snarled, glaring out of the tinted windows at the paparazzi outside. 

'Well, we have to get it over with.' Nicole beamed, opened the door. Anika had no choice but to follow her already full-figured sister as she swept down the red carpet with the grace of a princess, her red dress curled perfectly around her form. Anika stepped out and unthinkingly paused, pushing a thick tendril of rich red hair over her shoulder. Ten thousand cameras flashed their approval, and Anika swore to herself and swept onwards.

Her sister had the grace of a princess.

Anika had the grace of a wildcat. 

Rei stared.

'_That's_ Anika and her little sister?' he gaped. Mariah brought an elbow down on his forehead.

'Hey!'

'I'm only human!' wailed Rei. 

'Uh-oh, lovers spat.' Tyson muttered. 

'Yeah, and we all know how _those_ end.' Kai said, very, very grateful for the distraction. 'I really don't fancy a filling, so let's get this over and done with while Rei and Mariah sort out their little Issues…'

'Kai-' Rei growled. Mariah glowered at him. 'Oh boy-'

'And here we have the Blade Breakers from out very own country!' the real life, Japanese version of Gossip Gertie beamed. 'Looking handsome tonight in dark blue, we have Tyson, followed by the always cheerful Max! Following him is the not only intelligent but handsome scientist Kenny!'

'Oh, God.' Kai groaned, his sharp ears picking up the annoying woman. He sighed, gritted his teeth, and got out of the car.

If the paparazzi got excited about their good-looking and talented Beybladers, they were stunned about the second last one. For a moment time seemed to freeze, allowing Kai to walk steadily up the carpet, jerking his head to the others.

'Let's go. Stop playing to the media, guys.'

'Good idea.' Kenny blushed. 

The cameras woke up when Rei stepped out of the car, leading Mariah, and looking a little dazed. Mariah looked fairly pleased with herself. Max didn't want to know. 

'Tyson, don't ask.' Kai ordered, not even turning around as Tyson opened his mouth to say something to Rei. 

'But-'

'We don't want to know- trust me on this.'

Kai immediately placed himself on the outskirts, watching instead the dancing for a while before he closed his eyes, resting his head against the wall.

'Ka-ai!' Mariah screamed. Kai opened one of his eyes and regarded the girl coolly. 'You're supposed to be having fun!'

'Nothing,' Kai said icily, 'with this much people is going to be fun, Mariah. Your status as Rei's girlfriend doesn't give you enough weight to tell me what to do, either.'

Mariah glowered at him until Rei took her hand and gently dragged her away.

'Come on, Mariah, it's just his way.'

'But Rei-!'

'Come _on_, Mariah.'

Kai shut his eyes again. He only cracked them open again at the sound of a familiar voice. Way too familiar and close for his liking. 

'Come on, Anika, it's fun!' a more girly voice said, breathless with excitement. 'There's all these guys down there that are dying to dance with you!'

'They can go ahead and die then.'

'Come on!'

'No.'

Kai reminded himself that he did not, not matter what he felt like, he did _not_ feel like hunting those guys down and giving them a blood nose….

'Anikaaa!'

'Look, Nicole, I think I've forgotten how to dance anyway!'

'Aw, but you never know until you-'

'Nicole. _Get_. _Lost_.'

Nicole sighed, and gave up, nodding. 'All right. I'll be with Tyson. Hey! Tyson!'

'Nicole, I was wondering where you were-' Tyson and the black-haired girl came down the stairs. 'Did you manage to convince her to come down?'

Kai felt his mouth twist as Tyson took Anika's sister in his arms and stepped gently out onto the dance floor.

'No, she's so _stubborn_.'

'Yeah. Let's just have fun for now, then.'

This was going to drive him crazy. He had to get out of here. 

Rei, on the other hand, was not so much on Kai's side as he had seemed. He finished talking to the band and director, and gave Max the thumbs up. The blonde boy winked, and pushed his way through the crowd to Tyson and Nicole. Tyson grinned wickedly, and signalled to Kenny, who was standing surreptitiously in front of the lighting controls. 

The lights went out. 

Another one went on, on the director.

'And now, ladies and gentlemen, Japan's own Beybladers will start the next dance!'

Kai's head snapped up, knowing a plot when he heard it. Damn you guys. 

…he was saying that to a lot of people, lately. 

'And where's Kai-' the director murmured, as a light searched the room. There were a few giggles. Kai's reputation for being anything but sociopathic hadn't been confined to his team. 'There he is!'

Kai held his hand over his eyes as the light swung onto him triumphantly. Kai scowled.

'Er, sorry about that.' The director muttered, and swung the light off so the boy could actually see. Kai blinked away the white spots. 

'Come on, Kai, hurry up!' Tyson yelled, waving. Kai groaned inwardly. 

'Tyson, you might not have noticed this, but I don't have a partner.' He growled. He had a nasty feeling he knew where this was going, though. As dozens of female offers shot up around the hall, someone's hisses of protests could be heard. Slowly, the crowd hushed and turned on Nicole, almost forcibly dragging her sister towards Kai. Kai groaned again, this time almost aloud.

This was so humiliating. God, he was going to make Tyson's life a living hell for this. Giggles ran through the hall.

'Nicole, I told you-'

'Remember!' Nicole snarled, shoving her face in Anika's. Anika regarded her coldly, and shook her off. She sighed heavily and looked at Kai, who had stuck his hands in his pockets and was watching her cautiously. His mind seemed to have gone numb. 

'Have you seen it?' she asked bluntly. Kai blinked.

'Seen what?'

'My dignity.' Anika said miserably, looking around the hall. 'I'm sure it must be lying around somewhere.'

Kai relaxed as the muffled giggles turned into a ripple of laughter, closing the gap between him and Anika.

'Smooth save.'

'Thankyou.' She murmured, barely moving her lips as she walked, keeping up with him perfectly until they reached the others in the centre. Tyson was grinning like a madman, and Anika growled as she passed,

'Tyson, you will live to regret this.'

'You too, Nicole.' Kai snarled. What was amazing about it, Rei remarked later, was that both of them managed to keep their faces totally impassive. It was scary. 

The light in the centre of the hall dimmed slightly. 

'Have you really forgotten how to dance?' Kai asked softly, watching her form their half-metre distance. Anika sighed.

'No.'

'I didn't think so.' He smirked, and sighed as the music started. He hoped that the sick nervousness inside him didn't show on his face. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Rei gently take Mariah in his arms, and the same with Tyson and Nicole- argh. He was going to kill himself. 

Mind you, maybe if he just didn't think, for once. A part of him screamed it's protests. Kai challenged,

Do you have a _better_ suggestion?!

….

_Exactly_.

He sighed again, trying to let out his nervousness with it. Again. Must be an Anika thing. He held out his hand.

_Come on, then_, his eyes said. _I dare you_. 

Anika gingerly took his hand. 

_Fine_.

'For someone who says she hasn't danced in years, you're very good.' Kai said finally, managing to get over having her this damn close to him to say something. 

'Same goes for you, mister-I-haven't-done-this-since-I-was-seven.' 

'Can't seem to help it.' Kai said, blinking. 'You're easy to dance with.'

Anika rolled her eyes. She was still getting used to being this close to the guy. At least her heart was slowing down a little now. She felt Kai shift his hand a little on her waist, and found herself imaging what it would be like to have his arm around her everyday.

Ack! Not this again! Girly thoughts! That sort of thing warranted little hearts in her eyes and _drooling_, as far as she was concerned.

Oh, god. He was smirking at her again. She hated that smirk. It was so…so…oh, d_amn_. 

'You don't like me holding you this close, do you?' Kai asked. He kicked his inner self that governed his ruthless battle plans off a cliff and sent a Mac truck after it. 

In a way, this was a battle. But Anika wasn't the kind of girl who'd fall for the ruthless thing.

And now he was trying to get her to fall for him.

Something was seriously wrong with him, now. 

And he said to hell with it. 

Anika looked uncomfortable.

'Um- I'm just- not used to it.' She mumbled. Kai grinned again. It did nothing to comfort her.

'I'm sure you'll get used to it.' He said calmly. Anika narrowed her eyes at him. 

'Just what do you mean by that?'

'Oh, nothing.' Kai shrugged. Anika looked at him suspiciously.

'Why do I not trust you? Stop smirking!'

'Why?' Kai asked, smirking, and watched the colour rise in her cheeks. This was fun. But he knew he was nearing the edge of her enjoying herself despite her discomfort and getting her angry. 

'Just don't.' she muttered. He nodded, and changed his smile subtly. 

The dance ended. Tyson looked around for Kai.

'Are they still dancing?' he asked. Nicole shook her head. 

'They won't be.'

'Why not?'

Nicole nodded sourly at the hawk-eyed paparazzi stationed around the hall. 

'Oh. This is NUTS!'

'I think they'll be all right now.' Nicole grinned. 'What are you doing tomorrow, Tyson?'

'….' Tyson managed, blushing as she fixed him with a dazzling smile.


	6. Likewise

**Chapter Six**

_Likewise_

'Why'd you leave?'

'My plane ticket.'

'Funny. You know what I mean.'

'Well…I…' She couldn't say, "I freaked you out and the others wouldn't leave me alone and they'd want to say goodbye and I just can't handle that-"

'Nah, don't answer, actually.' Kai sighed, looking out over the city. Anika looked at him carefully in his black dress shirt and pants. On the front of the shirt, on either side, there were two silver phoenixes. 

How fitting. Sometimes, when he moved, they looked red. She leaned on the rail next to him. 

'Sorry I asked about it.' Kai continued. 

'Why?'

'Shouldn't've brought that up again.'

She looked at him, this time letting her eyes do the talking. He didn't meet her gaze for long, knowing he had to get this out or be haunted for the rest of his life. He was not going through another two months like he just had ever, ever again. 

'It'll just be awkward between us again.' He sighed. 'That really sucked.'

Anika raised an eyebrow in surprise. 

'It did, didn't it?' she smirked, looking at the lights over the city. 'What did you do?'

'Me? Destroyed bricks, mostly. What about you?'

'Reading, and the gym people _loved_ me.'

Kai smirked as she laughed a little at the memory. 

'Why'd you come, anyway?' he asked.

'My father talked me into it, and I-uh…felt kind of…bad for wandering off. I was kind of torn between coming and not, to tell the truth.'

'My grandfather ordered me too. He said he'd never seen me so distracted. I haven't either. I've never felt so freaked out in my life. No- not being able to concentrate on what I wanted to freaked me out. Never felt anything like it.'

Anika wisely remained silent, turning around and listening to him talk as she watched the light play behind the doors five metres away. She'd closed them when they had come out here. 

'I just didn't know what to do- buried myself in training, but every time I paused for a breath, there was always this guilty feeling in the back of my head. It drove me insane until I realised I had a few very alive ghosts to lay to rest.'

'How do you plan to do that?' Anika asked, ignoring her heartbeat as it picked up. Again. Damn you, Kai, she thought, watching him stand up straight and look at her coolly. Great. Was she to be shot down in flames or something _else_ involving flames that she didn't want to thinkaboutbecauseifshdid shewasgoingtostartblushing- 

'I plan to tell you this. Damn you, Anika Takatsuki.' Kai growled, grabbing her arms and glaring at her furiously. Anika's breath caught in her throat. The rage in his eyes- 

-was different to normal fury. He didn't want to kill her.

Oh God. Not _that_. 

'I can't say anything else except that.' Kai said, letting her go but not stepping back. He didn't take his eyes off hers, either. Anika was very, _very_ suddenly aware of how close he really was. 

Like very close. 

And every single little bit of common sense she had- hell, _any_ sense she had, went flying out the window. 

She really, really hated him and his little _smirk_. It was threatening to twitch onto his lips now. 

'Damn you too, Kai.' She growled, unable to look at him anymore, spinning around and glaring out at the city. Her eyes began to fill up and she cursed.

Damn, damn, damn. She'd sworn she would never let anyone get this close to her- and the person who did was one that had sworn the same thing.

Destiny, she thought sourly, had an extremely bad sense of humour.

'You're crying, Anika.' Kai said softly, over her shoulder. His hot breath tickled her neck. 

'Damn you.' She said again. 

'Yep. What you said.' Kai said, turning her around and flicking her tears off with his thumb. Anika bit her lip as he dropped his hands to her shoulders. 

Oh, shit. Now he was losing it. He –or his self control- was going to be in very big trouble if she looked at him with that hatred in her eyes again. 

Very big trouble.

Because he was quite aware that both of their hatred was _not_ hatred but something else. 

And she looked at him again, her eyes burning. 

Dammit.

Kai didn't really know what he was doing. His brain did not have anything to do with what he did next. 

He _did_ know that his self-control was kicked out of the window, and something shoved the grand piano out after it. 

One hand stayed on Anika's shoulder and the other traced her jaw line, tilting her chin up as he bent down, gently pressing his lips against hers. 

Anika froze. What the… _hell_…_ah_…**_shit_**. She relaxed, giving up. Kai's other hand dropped to her shoulder as she began to kiss back, and eventually to her waist, pulling her against him, sending a waving of mind-numbing emotion and confusion right through her body. 

She could feel him smirk. 

_Damn…you._

The words didn't seem important….

Nothing did, actually.

_Some time later…_

Kai stood up, and silence fell at the wedding table. Anika unceremoniously threw a cherry at the back of her sister's head as she sat in her new husband's lap. Kai didn't have to say anything when he stood. 

'Ooh, goody, speeches.' Max grinned. Anika rolled her eyes at the blonde, and he laughed. 

'I've been asked to say a few words about Tyson's wedding day,' Kai began. 'And I will. When the idea first occurred to me that Tyson could get married- initially when I saw him staring at his now wife- I thought that the bible called that day the Apocalypse.' He paused for the ripple of laughter as dodged the apple Nicole hurled playfully at his head. 

'But now that the day is here, and, much to my disappointment, the world is still intact and we are all very much alive…so I suppose I have to go through with this. When I first met Tyson, he annoyed the hell out of me. He was immature, over-confident, over-zealous and a downright pain. I am sad to say that this has not changed.'

He ignored Anika trying not to snicker aloud at his left. Tyson was glaring at him, but trying not to grin at that same time. Kai continued.

'Fortunately or unfortunately, Tyson turned out to almost deserve his ego. He was and still is one of the most talented beybladers I have ever met and doubt I will ever meet anyone like him again…thank God.' He added in an undertone. A few more giggles. 'He still had a lot to learn, but as my team-mate I watched him grow better from his mistakes and unfortunately, watched his head grow as well.'

'Then in his last year of high school was the summer that changed our lives, like it was straight out of a B-grade movie. Anika's little sister came to Tokyo. Until then I had never thought it was possible for anyone to be more over-confident about their talents and looks than Tyson. Nicole Takasuki proved me wrong. Beautiful, charming and dangerously well aware of it, I watched her wheedle her way with just about everyone, and told myself it could not get any worse when I accidentally walked in on her and Tyson two weeks after that International Beyblade dance.'

'I still say you did that on purpose!' Tyson shouted. Kai smirked and continued after taking a drink that Anika passed him, and the laughter had died away.

'Once again, I have been proven wrong in my blind hope. Now that it is dashed, I should like to mention that it really _couldn't_ get any worse. For the sake of our sanity, I raise a toast to the continued well being of Tyson and Nicole in their married life.'

'No children?' called Kenny naughtily. Kai paled.

'Can you imagine what their _kids_ would be like?' he demanded. Silence fell, and the unanimous request went up:

'Can you pass the champagne, please?'

Kai sat down, and Anika grinned at him.

'Well spoken.'

'Good, because I am _never_ going to talk that much again.' Kai muttered. Anika giggled and leaned on his shoulder. 'You tired, Ani?'

'Mm.'

'Me too.'

'Hey, Kai!' Tyson yelled down the table. Kai looked up as Anika sat up again, sipping her champagne. 'I've got a really good speech in mind for YOUR wedding!'

Kai smacked his forehead on the table a few times as Anika rolled her eyes as Tyson stood up, raising his glass.

'To Kai! Because he may not have known this, but this is the same day that Anika stole his ten thousand yen note-'

'I DID NOT _STEAL_ IT, YOU _LIAR_!'

'-and then they and into each other looking for the girl that had taken it and the boy it belonged to. What followed for the next three months was living hell for them, and for me, because I almost went bald, tearing my hair out with frustration. Bald at the age of seventeen!' he added tragically, and feigned offence when they laughed. Kai and Anika swapped looks. 

'Without Kai and Anika's complete and utter pig-headedness and shyness, I would never have met Nicole. And for that I won't charge them the cost of my toupee.'

Max fell off his chair, holding his stomach and laughing so hard he was crying. Various guests were doing the same thing.

'So to my new sister-in-law-' he paused as Anika turned to Kai, a terrified look on her face.

'Just kill me now, please, if you have any mercy!'

'None at all.' Kai grinned. 

'Damn you, Kai.' Anika scowled, sticking her tongue out and looking back at Tyson as Kai laughed and put his arm around her shoulders. 

'-and her still-embarrassed-about-it boyfriend Kai, thankyou for being two of the most frustrating people I have ever known.'

'I am _not_ still embarrassed about it.' Kai glowered.

'That's why you're blushing, is it?' Nicole teased. 'Hey Kai, if you marry Anika, we're all related!'

'Oh God.' Kai groaned. 'Anika-'

'No, I understand perfectly. However, as my boyfriend you _still_ have to put up with my sister's family.'

'Give up, Kai.' Max grinned. He'd gotten married two years ago. Anika was bloody pleased with herself, and still claimed Max should buy her a chocolate sundae every time they passed that ice cream parlour. 

'Never.' Kai grinned wolfishly. 'Pass the chips.'

'Never give up?' Anika asked as conversation resumed normality around them. 'I certainly don't remember you telling _me_ that.'

Kai choked on his chip.

'D-damn you, Anika.'

'No, not until we get home.' She said calmly, and giggled as his face froze in terror, in case someone had heard that. She leaned her head on his shoulder.

'Wake me up before we go home.'

Home, huh….Kai thought, putting his arm around her waist. Strange….

Such a simple word.

 But it sounded like the best thing in the world to him right now. He caught Tyson's gaze as he kissed the top of Anika's head, and gave a minute shrug. Tyson smiled.

Kai had given up on one certain factor a long time ago. 

'Hey, Tyson.' Kai said, his voice carrying up the table. Tyson raised an eyebrow in query. 'How much do you think they charge for ski gear in Hell?'

Tyson and Max gaped at him guilty.

'Er- you heard that?'

'Oh, I hear _lots_ of things.' Kai grinned. The light caught his teeth, and his grin looked like the one that came towards open-water swimmers.

With a fin on top.

Yep, Anika smiled against his warm skin. Some things definitely never changed. Others, however…

_Around about two hundred bucks for a family pack._


End file.
